Returning To- Fareham Town

To my surprise this was my first Wessex Premier game of the season. My Tuesday plans had been vague to say the least as I wanted to tick off a new ground. However, twelve months have passed since I started hopping from ground to ground around Hampshire and new grounds usually mean 80 mile-plus round trips.

Baffins Milton Rovers has been on my radar since their Hampshire Premier League promotion last season and their game with Totton & Eling was a strong contender, however, if you follow this blog regularly you will know that I have taken quite a liking to Team Solent so I decided on a third trip to Fareham Town to watch the students away from home for a change. Baffins will have to wait for another time.

The Ground

This was my second visit to the Cams Alders Stadium after their FA Cup First Round Qualifying replay defeat to Alresford Town.

Since my last visit I had noticed a slight improvement to the look of the ground as it had definitely been tidied up somewhat and I still love the view from the main stand, very impressive for a club this size.

The Game

Two goals from Solent star Jesse Waller-Lassen earned his side all three points to put the students up into tenth with a 2-1 victory over Fareham Town.

The former Tottenham youth player put the away side in the lead before Jay Ripiner equalised before the break. But in an end-to-end second half, the Solent captain raced through and scored the winner.

Team Solent were on top in the early stages with Waller-Lassen rolling a tame shot at ‘keeper Luke Douglas before Tobi Adekunle fired one high over the bar.

Douglas was alert to keep the score at 0-0 when Waller-Lassen sent a testing ball into the box and Pip Nolan just missed the header, forcing Douglas to parry the free kick out for a corner.

Silvano Obeng then had the ‘keeper on the floor with some fancy footwork allowing the striker to get the better of two defenders, however the angle was too tight to get a clean shot and it was deflected out for another corner.

Nolan then hit the crossbar for the visitors from a well-taken corner as the home side struggled to get out of their own half.

Solent took the lead on 15 minutes in route one style when Adekunle hit a ball high and long and picked out Waller-Lassen who controls the ball with his back to goal, turns and accelerates with lightning pace to dispatch the two defenders and convert his one-on-one chance to put his side ahead.

The goal was a wake up call for the home side and Josh Taylor forced a brilliant save from Gibraltar Under 19 international goalkeeper Bradley Banda who palmed the ball away as it looked destined for the top corner.

Waller-Lassen went close to doubling the lead when his low free kick took a deflection off the underside of the wall and clipped the bottom of the post.

Fareham made a first half change with Ash Tattersall replacing George Davis and it turned out to be a good change when Tattersall was involved in Fareham’s equaliser five minutes before the break.

The Creeksiders showed the benefit of counter attacking football after Solent fluffed a short corner. Liam Kimber picked the ball up in the middle of the park and played a ball out wide to Tattersall who played a ball over to Ripiner unmarked at the back post who controlled the ball and slotted into the corner of the net.

The home side were on the ascendency and had a penalty shout turned down by the referee when Banda appeared to blatantly shove over a Fareham player when Solent failed to clear the ball however noting came of it with the score all level at the interval.

The second half was a drab affair with Nolan heading one wide as very little was created.

Waller-Lassen did manage to put the Students ahead for a second time on the night when Jemal Wiseman headed Douglas’ poor goalkeeper kick to Ryan Dacres-Smith who controlled the ball before Waller-Lassen took the ball off Dacres-Smith’s foot to race through on goal and slide it in the bottom corner.

It was nearly a hat trick for the striker when Jim Orvis played a lovely ball over the top allowing Waller-Lassen a clean run at goal but as Douglas came out, Waller-Lassen couldn’t quite get his lobbed shot on target as it bounced just wide.

Obeng then forced a good save from Douglas when he turned his marker to fire a low shot at goal but Douglas managed to save with his legs to keep Fareham in touching distance.

Banda then had to be alert at the other end when he made a fingertip save to tip a header over the bar as Town went searching for the equaliser.

The Fareham Town ultras were up in arms as the game ticked on when they thought they should have been awarded another penalty when Solent sub Mike Lamb nudged Tattersall over but again the man in the middle waved play on as Solent held on to the lead.

There was more controversy at the end when Waller-Lassen blocked Fareham from taking a quick throw in deep in their defensive half, provoking a nudge in the face by the disgruntled home player. Waller-Lassen in typical Premier League fashion went down screaming causing a fracas involving most of the men on the pitch. Once everyone had calmed down, play resumed but Solent held on to take three points.

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About

Having been to well over 500 games and already visited over 150 grounds, I am often asked 'Do I write about my adventures?'. My answer to that question had always been followed with a simple 'no', until now.
As the start of the 2016/17 season creeps ever nearer, I felt that it would be a good time to set up this blog. The Terrace Traveller is born. Keep checking this blog to find out which patch of grass I will be watching football at next. Enjoy!